North Launches The Reach

[sarc]

Thank you Luca. I think I found my next kite...

[alford]

Does anyone care that the canopy is "only" 2x ripstop? Does it really matter? FWIW I demoed a 12m and loved it.

[luca]

I was on Bandits years before and changed from 2019 Bandits to North.
F-One is using 2x Ripstop as well and I had all Bandit Modells since 2012. never had any problem with 2x Ripstop. I think all is marketing. For me the engineered design is more important than double, triple, quad Ripstop. I think in the future the kites will get lighter and quad or triple ripstop is heavier.

[sarc]

Got a 2017 Duotone in I think tri-ripstop or whatever. The canopy lasted much less than the old Duotone (north) 2x ripstop. My understanding is that what matters is the coating, not the number of ripstop thingies.

[windsuks]

I believe North looked at all the ripstop materials available then weighed up the strengths and weekness's including durability versus weight and cost and decided they would go with the tried and tested 2 x ripstop.
I believe it's likely this will change in the future as they introduce new materials from the North Sails side of the company.

[Jose]

Any info about weight 9 and 11 Reach kites?

[rnelias]

I've had a Reach 12m for about 2 weeks and resold it to a friend as I couldn't like the kite for neither foiling or jumping. I've got it used without trying the kite before. My mistake. I don't consider myself an experienced rider so, take my impressions with a grain of salt. 4 years riding twintips and about 1.5 years foiling, mostly, with 1-struct kites (Alpha and Boxer). For jumping, I couldn't find the exact timing of this kite and, in the same session, tried a Moto 12m 2021 from a friend and it was day and night difference. Landed all jumps on the Moto that I was struggling with the Reach. It was a complete surprise for me as the Reach is much more hyped than the Moto. In gust wind (14-22 knots) I thought it hard to trim the kite to the correct power (I was using a navigator bar) but, something that I've thought completely weird was that the kite's structure seems too soft in the recommended pressure. If you give any hard input, to recover the kite on a gust, the tip folds and it tends to collapse. BTW, I'm only 72kg. I also have a Bandit 12m 2020 that I was expecting to replace with this Reach but changed my mind. I've kept the Bandit and resold the Reach. Maybe, some things will be tuned in the next version. It seems North will release it this year. I think kites are a personal taste and people kite in different ways. Things that I've found weird can be a feature desired by someone else but I could not like this kite as I like my Bandit or the Moto 2021 that I've tried maybe my kite had some issue, who knows. It was like-new when I've got it.

[luca]

sounds weird. Never experienced that with my Reach 12m.

[TheJoe]

I've had a Reach 12m for about 2 weeks and resold it to a friend as I couldn't like the kite for neither foiling or jumping. I've got it used without trying the kite before. My mistake. I don't consider myself an experienced rider so, take my impressions with a grain of salt. 4 years riding twintips and about 1.5 years foiling, mostly, with 1-struct kites (Alpha and Boxer). For jumping, I couldn't find the exact timing of this kite and, in the same session, tried a Moto 12m 2021 from a friend and it was day and night difference. Landed all jumps on the Moto that I was struggling with the Reach. It was a complete surprise for me as the Reach is much more hyped than the Moto. In gust wind (14-22 knots) I thought it hard to trim the kite to the correct power (I was using a navigator bar) but, something that I've thought completely weird was that the kite's structure seems too soft in the recommended pressure. If you give any hard input, to recover the kite on a gust, the tip folds and it tends to collapse. BTW, I'm only 72kg. I also have a Bandit 12m 2020 that I was expecting to replace with this Reach but changed my mind. I've kept the Bandit and resold the Reach. Maybe, some things will be tuned in the next version. It seems North will release it this year. I think kites are a personal taste and people kite in different ways. Things that I've found weird can be a feature desired by someone else but I could not like this kite as I like my Bandit or the Moto 2021 that I've tried maybe my kite had some issue, who knows. It was like-new when I've got it.

It sounds like you got a very abused kite. I have been on the same Reach quiver since they came out and I have never had my 12 act the way you described. I am 82kg and have had the 12 in gusts up to 30mph with no deforming. All so it could have been the lines on that bar were way out of whack. I have never flown the Moto so I can not compare the Reach to it. The reach is a very fast and active kite maybe your timing is for slower kites. I am looking forward to the release of the 2022 as I am due for new kites. If you could get a chance to demo the kite new with a new bar you might like the kite. I am all ways reluctant to try other people's gear as I like my bars to be even in the lines and the canopies not to be unevenly stretched from only jumping to one direction.

[fluidity]

Does anyone care that the canopy is "only" 2x ripstop? Does it really matter? FWIW I demoed a 12m and loved it.

I think the texture becomes too homogenous to easily abort rips if you throw too many in.